GWB ENTERTAINMENT & ANDREW HENRY PRESENTS
present
THE RED STITCH PRODUCTION of
Sold out even before it opened last year, this critically acclaimed Red Stitch production of Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? played at the Comedy Theatre for a strictly limited season from 29 June – 21 July 2024.
Starring Logie and AFI Award winner Kat Stewart (Underbelly, Offspring, Disgraced, Heisenberg) and directed by Helpmann Award winner Sarah Goodes (Sunday, The Children, Julia).
In this jet-black comedy featuring some of the most cracking dialogue and savage one-liners ever written for the stage, real-life couple, Kat Stewart and David Whiteley play Martha and George, whose marriage is served up to their unwitting guests, played by Emily Goddard and Harvey Zielinski, as a taste of the humiliations and the inevitable compromises to come.
Simply one of the greatest plays ever written, Edward Albee’s classic masterpiece first burst onto the stage in 1962, tapping into a growing unease about notions of decency and respectability, in a vicious dissection of a marriage over years of disappointments. This masterful play is an ode to the heartbreak of middle age.
Cast
Kat Stewart
Martha
Kat Stewart has built a reputation as one of Australia’s most outstanding actors. Renowned for her exceptional performances across a diverse range of unforgettable characters on both stage and screen, her work on stage includes Melbourne Theatre Company’s Admissions, Heisenberg, Disgraced, The Speechmaker, Frost Nixon and Festen. She was an active ensemble member at Red Stitch for 10 years with credits including Creditors, The Little Dog Laughed, The Shape of Things, Bug, Dirty Butterfly, Loyal Women and returned last year for the sell-out production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
On television, Kat has played leading roles on productions including Five Bedrooms (Series 1–4), Offspring (Series 1-7), One Night, Mr and Mrs Murder, Tangle (Series 1-3), Newstopia (Series 1-3), Supernova (Series 1-2) and the original Underbelly. Her guest credits include Get Krack!n, Orange is the New Brown, True Story with Hamish and Andy and Jack Irish. She will soon be seen in the second series of Black Snow for STAN. Film credits include Little Monsters, West of Sunshine, and Sucker. Kat received an AACTA Award for Offspring, and both an AFI and Logie for Most Outstanding Actress in Underbelly as well as many nominations. She has received 2 Green Room Awards.
David Whiteley
George
David graduated with honours from Monash University in Politics and Modern Drama, and studied acting at BAPA (Federation University). His screen credits include Jack Irish, The Newsreader, The Wrong Girl, Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, Superwog, The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Gallipoli, Conspiracy 365 (as brothers Tom and Rafe), Mr & Mrs Murder, Beastmaster, Ponderosa, Stingers, Neighbours, and City Homicide.
David was a founding member of Red Stitch Actor’s Theatre and Artistic Director, appearing in many of its productions including Uncle Vanya (Vanya), Caught, Ulster American, Wet House, Howie the Rookie, Pool No Water, Some Voices, and the Australian touring production of Red Sky Morning. He also directed My Romantic History by D.C. Jackson in 2010.
Feature films include The Menkoff Method, Crawlspace, Exit, and Killer Elite.
Harvey Zielinski
Nick
Actor, Writer, Director and Producer Harvey Zielinski is a two-time Heath Ledger Scholarship finalist, a Casting Guild of Australia Rising Star Award recipient, and was selected to be the Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre graduate ensemble member for 2018 before becoming an ensemble member in 2022.
Harvey is best known as series lead Charlie in WHITE FEVER (ABC), series lead Abel in Catherine Hardwicke’s sci-fi series DON’T LOOK DEEPER (opposite Don Cheadle and Emily Mortimer), and series regular Gez in smash-hit Amazon Prime original comedy series DEADLOCH. Other screen credits include LOVE ME (Warner Bros), SPREADSHEET (Paramount+), METROSEXUAL (9Now), MY FIRST SUMMER (STAN), WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS (ABC/Netflix) and GET KRACK!N (ABC). Harvey’s stage credits include Malthouse Theatre Company’s production BECAUSE THE NIGHT, CAVEMXN (Anthropocene Theatre Company), SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER (Red Stitch), THE ANTIPODES (Red Stitch) and HIR (Red Stitch).
Harvey’s screenwriting has been supported by ABC’s Fresh Start Fund, Imagine Impact, Screen Australia, the ‘Originate’ features initiative and the 17th Annual Ontario Creates Film Financing Forum at the Toronto International Film Festival. He is a Malthouse Theatre commissioned playwright and a writer on ABC comedy series WHITE FEVER. Harvey’s debut feature film SWEET MILK LAKE was recently fully financed and greenlit. As well as being the writer of SWEET MILK LAKE, Harvey is also directing, starring and producing.
Emily Goddard
Honey
Emily Goddard is an award winning actor, writer and theatre maker.
Her recent theatre credits include: WITTENOOM, THE AMATEURS, LAMB, YOU GOT OLDER and GLORY DAZED (Red Stitch); WAYSIDE BRIDE and LIGHT SHINING IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE (Belvoir); AUSTRALIAN REALNESS (Malthouse); NOISES OFF (MTC/Queensland Theatre); THE BOY AT THE EDGE OF EVERYTHING and ELLING (Melbourne Theatre Company); ANGELS IN AMERICA and THE LONELY WOLF (Dirty Pretty Theatre/MTC Neon); HAMLET (ASC); MESS (The Bush-London, Birmingham Rep/UK National Tour); INNER VOICES (Red Line/Old Fitz); THE UNSPOKEN WORD IS JOE (Brisbane Festival/MKA); MOTH (Arena); THE WALLS (Attic/Erratic); and OS PEQUENOS NADAS (Ultimo Comboio Teatro, Barcelona). Screen credits include: CLICKBAIT, MS FISHER’S MODERN MURDER MYSTERIES, NEIGHBOURS, NEWTON’S LAW and TWENTYSOMETHING.
Emily’s critically-acclaimed play THIS IS EDEN was winner of the 2018 Drama Victoria Award and has had six sell out seasons, including a recent Australian tour. An acting graduate of Ecole Philippe Gaulier-Paris, Emily was recipient of two Ian Potter Cultural Trust scholarships and winner of the Empire Theatres Developing Performer Bursary. She has been nominated for three Green Room Awards for Outstanding Performer.
Emily is a 2023 graduate of the VCA Masters of Screenwriting and a recent AACTA/Sony Pitch Focus Top 5 Finalist.
Kate Cole
Understudy (Martha)
Kate has had an accomplished career in theatre with credits that include Groundhog Day (GWB Entertainment), Circle Mirror Transformation, His Girl Friday (MTC), Assassins (Hayes Theatre Company Sydney, Sydney Opera House) Ladies In Black (QTC & MTC, National Tour) Sweet Charity (National Tour) West Side Story (VSO IMG National Tour) My Fair Lady (VSO) and 42nd Street (Helen Montague productions Her Majesty’s Theatre Sydney) and as a understudy for Admissions, The Sound Inside, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Bloom for Melbourne Theatre Company.
As a founding member of Melbourne’s Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, Kate has performed in multiple productions, including Grace, Grounded (Best Actress award in an Independent production 2015 Sydney Theatre Awards, Best Actress nomination 2014 Green Room Awards), Suddenly Last Summer, Jumpers For Goalposts, Incognito and Out Of The Water.
Television credits include Wentworth, How to Stay Married, The Divorce, Doctor Blake Mysteries, Seven Types of Ambiguity and the feature film Surrogate.
Kate trained in NYC and LA, with Uta Hagen, and The Actors Studio Lifetime Members Marcia Haufrecht and Sharon Chatten.
Gareth Reeves
Understudy (George)
Gareth Reeves was born in Christchurch New Zealand. He trained as an actor at New Zealand’s national Drama School in Wellington, Toi Whakaari: The New Zealand Drama School for three years, graduating in 1999.
Gareth then spent years working consistently in theatre throughout New Zealand and Australia with a strong foundation in Shakespeare and modern classics. His entry into screen acting saw earned him a Best Actor award at The New Zealand Screen Awards for his role in The Insiders Guide to Love and a nomination for his first lead film role in A Song of Good.
Gareth has since appeared in numerous television productions including Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, The Cult and Go Girls. Film appearances include independent feature I’m not Harry Jenson, festival sci-fi production Existence, and Tracker, which saw him squared off against British actor Ray Winstone, as well as booking Walt Disney Productions’ Pete’s Dragon.
Gareth found his place in Australian Theatre, having appeared on stage for Darlinghurst Theatre in Venus in Fur, Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre in Middletown, Melbourne Theatre Co. in Straight White Men, Bell Shakespeare in both Richard 3 and Antony and Cleopatra, Malthouse Theatre in Revolt, she said. Revolt Again, Lab Kelpie in Elegy, and Michael Cassel Group playing Harry in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Reeves can be seen on Australian screens in Mary: The Making of a Princess, The ABC’S Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Freemantle Media’s Wentworth, as well as working on both Stephen David Entertainment series Frontiersmen, and Murder is Forever.
Laurence Boxhall
Understudy (Nick)
Laurence most recently performed in the two-hander Switzerland at Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre, directed by Shaun Rennie. He produced and starred in another two-hander Milked at Melbourne’s premiere independent theatre venue, fortyfivedownstairs, directed by Iain Sinclair. For this, Laurence received outstanding reviews describing the “superior acting” as “impeccable”, “outstanding” and “at the top of (his) craft”.
Laurence toured Australia as Christopher Wren in the 70th anniversary tour of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, under the direction of Robyn Nevin, and alongside Australian stage icons Gerry Connolly and Geraldine Turner OAM. Very much a role Laurence was born to play, he received unanimously strong reviews.
A NIDA graduate, his stage work for the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) includes Silvius in As You Like It, from acclaimed director Simon Phillips, Shakespeare in Love, also from director Simon Phillips, and his professional stage debut in Jumpy, a co-production with Sydney Theatre Company.
Other stage credits include Punk Rock, directed by Ruby Rees for Patalog Theatre and Lysander in The Australian Shakespeare Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In his final year at NIDA, Laurence played Vladimir in Waiting for Godot, directed by Susanna Dowling.
Laurence was the Gen Z captain in Channel Nine’s popular Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, with Shaun Micallef, Andy Lee and Robyn Butler. He was also in the main cast for the ABC’s hilarious Ronny Chieng: International Student. Other credits include a recurring role in Neighbours and the web series Dave and Theo. He made his television debut in teen series The Worst Year of My Life… Again and was in Michael Rymer’s critically acclaimed Deadline Gallipoli for Foxtel/Matchbox Pictures, as well as the feature The Spirit of the Game.
Laurence is a highly skilled voice over artist, having narrated a number of audiobooks including The Grunts Series by Philip Ardagh for which Laurence was named one of the ten Best New Voices in 2020 by The Publishers Association in the UK.
Jing-Xuan Chan
Understudy (Honey)
Jing-Xuan Chan is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts, and her theatre credits include Meet Me At Dawn, Hungry Ghosts and Golden Shield (Melbourne Theatre Company); Oil (Sydney Theatre Company); Opening Night and Miss Peony (Belvoir St Theatre); Incognito, Caught, and Wolf Play (Red Stitch); Single Asian Female (La Boite); Wit, Fallen, and The Merry Wives of Windsor (fortyfiveownstairs).
On screen she can be seen in Fisk, Wellmania, While The Men Are Away, Neighbours, The Family Law, Harrow, Glitch, Frayed, The Letdown, as well as in the AACTA nominated best feature film Here Out West.
Jing-Xuan has been nominated for Green Room Awards for her performances in Golden Shield and in Wit, and alongside the cast of The Family Law she received the Equity Ensemble Award for a Comedy Series in 2020.
Creatives
Sarah Goodes
Director
Sarah’s sell-out production of SUNDAY by Anthony Weigh, opened the 2023 season for the Melbourne Theatre Company starring Nikki Shiels. She also directed the recent production of Virginia Gay’s CYRANO for the MTC which toured to the Perth Festival, and STC’s critically acclaimed production of Joanna Murray-Smith’s new play JULIA which sold out Sydney and Canberra seasons. The production will tour extensively in 2024 with Justine reprising the role.
From 2012 – 2016 she was the Resident Director at the Sydney Theatre Company and from 2016 – 2020 she was the Associate Artistic Director at the Melbourne Theatre Company.
Sarah directed the world premiere of SWITZERLAND by Joanna Murray-Smith for STC in 2014 which was nominated for many awards including a Helpmann for Best Direction. In 2018 her production of THE CHILDREN won three Helpmann Awards including Best Director, Best Actor and Best Production. Her production of GOLDEN SHIELD by Anchuli Felicia King was nominated for 7 Greenroom Awards winning for Best Design.
For Melbourne Theatre Company, Sarah’s work includes: SUNDAY; CYRANO; THE SOUND INSIDE; HOME, I’M DARLING; COSI (with the Sydney Theatre Company); GOLDEN SHIELD; ARBUS & WEST; ASTROMAN; A DOLL’S HOUSE: PART 2; THE CHILDREN (with Sydney Theatre Company); THREE LITTLE WORDS and JOHN. As Resident Director at Sydney Theatre Company Sarah directed THE HANGING; DISGRACED; ORLANDO; BATTLE OF WATERLOO; SWITZERLAND; THE EFFECT; VERE (FAITH); THE SPLINTER and EDWARD GANT’S AMAZING FEATS OF LONELINESS. Sarah’s other directing credits include GRACE (Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre); THE SUGAR HOUSE (Belvoir); THE SWEETEST THING; THE SMALL THINGS; ELLING and BLACK MILK (B Sharp Belvoir); VERTIGO AND THE VIRGINIA, THE SHELLING POINT; HILT and WHAT HAPPENED WAS… (Old Fitzroy Theatre). SCORCED at NIDA and EARTHQUAKES in London at VCA.
In 2014 Sarah was the recipient of the Gloria Payten Fellowship. She studied English Literature and Theatre at the University of NSW and the University of California San Diego and has a Post Graduate Diploma in Theatre Directing from the Victorian College of the Arts.
Sarah recently directed THE WEEKEND at Belvoir Street and SWITZERLAND at the Auckland Theatre Company. Her critically acclaimed WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF at Red Stitch Theatre Company starring Kat Stewart and David Whiteley will remount in 2024. She is currently enrolled in Masters of Screen Business at ATFRS.
Harriet Oxley
Set & Costume Design
A graduate of VCA (Theatre Design) and RMIT (Fashion Design), Harriet has designed costumes for dance, theatre, opera, musical theatre and circus productions across Australia since 2005.
Collaborations in recent years include The Ring Cycle (Melbourne Opera), Sunday (Melbourne Theatre Company), Midnight the Cinderella Musical (Aspect Entertainment), Lucie in the Sky (Australasian Dance Collective), The Universe is Here (Sydney Dance Company/ Stephanie Lake), Pendulum (Lucy Guerin Inc), Lucrezia (Melbourne Opera), Red (Dancenorth) and Entity (Back to Back Theatre).
Harriet has had ongoing artistic collaborations with companies such as Stephanie Lake Company, Sydney Dance Company, Lucy Guerin Inc, Dancenorth, Melbourne Opera, Victorian Opera, Chunky Move, and Circus Oz. For Malthouse Theatre, Harriet designed costumes for The Temple. As costume designer, she collaborated with Gideon Obarzanek on the acclaimed, interdisciplinary dance/ music performance One Infinity (Playking Productions).
Harriet has been nominated for multiple Green Room Awards, winning once for design in Opera.
Matt Scott
Lighting Designer
Matt is one of Australia’s leading lighting designers with 30 years’ experience in the industry designing more than 300 productions for Theatre, Opera, Dance and Music Theatre. Based in Melbourne, Australia he has worked for almost all of Australia’s leading performing arts companies and producers. His work has also been seen overseas with some notable productions touring to the US, UK, Europe, New Zealand, and Japan. He has collaborated with a varied list of directors, choreographers, and designers across all performance genres. His work is regularly recognised both within the industry and in the media for its atmosphere, attention to detail and collaborative empathy. His most recent work includes Jacky, The Heartbreak Choir, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Shakespeare in Love (Melbourne Theatre Company); Fun Home (Sydney Theatre Company /Melbourne Theatre Company) Medea, Drizzle Boy (Queensland Theatre); Candide, The Who’s Tommy and Parsifal (Victorian Opera). Matt recently received a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Lighting Design of a Mainstage Production for Fun Home. He has also received two Helpmann Awards for Best Lighting Design and one Green Room Award for Best Design for an Opera. He is currently a Lecturer in Design (Lighting) at the University of Melbourne (Victorian College of the Arts).
Grace Ferguson
Composition & Sound
Grace Ferguson is a classically trained pianist, composer and educator based at Eastmint Studios in Naarm. Represented as an Associate Artist by the Australian Centre of Music, she contributes to a range of collaborative works across theatre, dance and film, releases original music and regularly performs locally and abroad.
In 2024, Grace was shortlisted for an APRA PDA (classical/experimental) and awarded Best Composition for a Main Stage Production, On the Beach (STC) at the Sydney Critic Theatre Awards and through the support of Creative Australia is currently an artist in residence at the Cité internationale des arts, Paris.
Ethan Hunter
Composition & Sound
Ethan (he/him) is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Design & Production), his passion for sound has led Ethan to a career across various artistic mediums in the realms of theatre, dance, film, and installations.
His recent notable credits include sound design for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Red Stitch Actors Theatre, Laundry Shoot and Hedda GablerGablerGabler at La Mama, and several graduate productions at VCA, such as Theatrum Botanicum, and The Wolves.
Ethan has also collaborated with Masters of Theatre (Directing) students on captivating projects like Ariadne, MinusOneSister and An Unseasonable Fall of Snow at VCA.
Ethan has completed secondments with Melbourne Theatre Company, where he contributed to productions like Laurinda and Cyrano. Furthermore, he has served as a Sound Technician at venues such as Malthouse and Melbourne Theatre Company.
David Letch
Sound Design
System Sound
David has been working with System Sound for more than 20 years across a broad range of musical disciplines and theatre. He has been Head of Sound for numerous tours throughout Australia, South Africa, Asia and the Middle East, including Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Wicked, Mary Poppins, King Kong, Spamalot and Kinky Boots.
He has been Production Sound Engineer for Groundhog Day, Moulin Rouge, Girl From The North Country, Jersey Boys, Legally Blonde, Les Misérables, Beautiful, School of Rock, Book of Mormon and Billy Elliot.
Associate Sound Design credits include Sunset Boulevard, Chicago, Boy from Oz, Come from Away and Wicked. Other productions include North by Northwest, Ladies in Black, Jasper Jones, Singin’ in the Rain, The Wizard of Oz and Dream Lover.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Where is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf playing?
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? played at the Comedy Theatre Melbourne from 29 June – 21 July 2024.
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What is the running time?
The running time is approximately 3 hours including interval(s).
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Content warning
Production includes:
Theatrical haze
Smoking of herbal cigarettesGWB & AHP do not typically offer advisories about subject matter. We acknowledge, however, that sensitivities vary from person to person. If you would like to read the content advisory for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, click here.
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Is there an age recommendation?
The production is suitable for ages 15+.
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Is the venue accessible?
For information about accessibility at the Comedy Theatre, please visit the Marriner Group website.
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Who are the authorised ticket sellers?
The only authorised ticket seller for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf at the Comedy Theatre is Ticketek.